Weather
Temperate; moderated by North Atlantic Current; mild, windy winters; damp, cool summers.
Terrain
Mostly plateau interspersed with mountain peaks, icefields; coast deeply indented by bays and fiords.
Currency
Icelandic Krona (ISK)
Languages
Icelandic, English, Nordic languages, German widely spoken
Religion
Evangelical Lutheran 87.1%, other Protestant 4.1%, Roman Catholic 1.7%, other 7.1% (2002)
Ethnic groups
homogeneous mixture of descendants of Norse and Celts 94%, population of foreign origin 6%
History
Settled by Norwegian and Celtic (Scottish and Irish) immigrants during the late 9th and 10th centuries A.D., Iceland boasts the world's oldest functioning legislative assembly, the Althing, established in 930. Independent for over 300 years, Iceland was subsequently ruled by Norway and Denmark. Fallout from the Askja volcano of 1875 devastated the Icelandic economy and caused widespread famine. Over the next quarter century, 20% of the island's population emigrated, mostly to Canada and the US. Limited home rule from Denmark was granted in 1874 and complete independence attained in 1944. Literacy, longevity, income, and social cohesion are first-rate by world standards.
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